Mean Mom

The road followed the creek and I saw men fishing. My dad doesn’t fish but we have fishing waders at home. They are rubber boot-pants. I wondered why they were in the junk closet, so I asked Mom.

“Why are there fishing waders in the junk closet?”

“I am driving. Can’t hear!” she said, so I asked louder.

“Now, what is she going on and on about?” Mom turned to my sister.

My sister draped herself over the back of her seat to touch me. She whispered, “This might not be a good time to ask Mom questions. She’s driving. I think Dad used to fish and that’s why they are there.” She blew me a kiss and sat back in her seat. I wondered why he stopped fishing but I sure didn’t want to risk asking.

Mom started yelling at Trishie then. I could tell she was really angry.

Trishie said, “But she’s my friend!”

Mom said, “She is not. She’s a whore!”

My sister cried. I knew it was going to be a long ride.

I could read the signs and knew the tiny towns – Driftwood, Sinnamahoning, the turn for Stevenson Dam, Keating, which is different than Keating Summit near Austin, Cooks Run, Renovo.

I have a friend whose dad lives in Renovo. Mom says he abandoned his family in Emporium, so I always imagine a big town there – some place worth escaping to – but it’s not, so I am always disappointed with Renovo. All the houses look very old, and not in a good antique-y way, just plain old.

Lock Haven was next. It’s pretty cool because they have the State Teacher’s college there. Mom says it’s a school for dummies; that we are all going to go to Catholic universities. She says she made that promise to God when my brother was born. But Lock Haven always looks fun anyway, with lots of college kids on the wide main street and the flattened out, wide creek.

The road turned away from the creek for a stretch and then I just saw the rolling hills and green – green everywhere.

Next came my favorite place in the whole wide world – Jersey Shore! Mom thinks I’m crazy, “What’s to love?” she says. Well, first there is the name – Jersey Shore! Who wouldn’t want to live there? I know there is a real Jersey shore because my cousins go to Atlantic City once in awhile. I hope I get to see the ocean some day! But for now, the Susquehanna River will do just fine! It’s a real river there at Jersey Shore and not a creek. And there are places where the road is inches from the river. When we crossed over the bridge I saw water going to forever on the left and water going to forever on the right, just like I picture the real Jersey shore.

We were finally down out of the mountains and the radio picked up some stations, so my sister found WFIL playing Sea Cruise!

“Feel like jumpin’! Girl would ya join me please? Don’t mind beggin’ I’m on bended knees!” Freddie Freeman squeaked at the end of each note, like he was in pain.

I was in the back seat. The blue vinyl stuck to my legs, so I moved around a lot, especially when the song got to, “Whoo-ee, whoo-ee baby!” There was a suitcase on the seat beside me, so I couldn’t move too much. I looked out the windows and rolled my window down a little; back then I got car sick.

Then we were on big highway, headed to Williamsport. Mom yelled because there were big trucks on the road, “You don’t own the road!” she screamed as she passed one. There was a point – I knew it when I felt it – that seemed dangerous. I sort of wondered what that speed was but I wouldn’t dare ask Mom. It’s like the Plymouth was rumbling along, swaying like a boat because it did that, and then, when Mom passed a truck, it started to shiver – like the car was scared and crying, “Too fast! You are going too fast!”

Williamsport is a city. I guess it’s the first city I ever saw, except for maybe DuBois, where Grandma lives. Williamsport has lots of houses and a sign that says, “Home of Little League Baseball”. My brother is in Little League; I wonder if he knows this is its home? There are very tall buildings here – I tried to count how high up they went. I always thought the most you could have was an upstairs, not six or seven upstairs! I saw the Grant’s store on the outskirts of town and knew we would stop there on the way back. Grant’s is so fun! They have a restaurant right in the store! I knew I’d have a hot roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy.

Mom took little roads then, through the forest. There was hardly any traffic and the forest was beautiful. Picnic tables were scattered here and there. I saw the turnoff for Rickett’s Glen State Park. Mom said we would go there some day, but she said that before. The roads were twisty-turny and I got queasy and told mom I needed to throw up. She said, “Oh great!” in a nasty way, but pulled onto the gravel at the roadside quickly anyway. I managed to get the door open, leaned out and puked all over. Instantly, I felt better! I felt great!

“Done?” Mom asked.

“Yes,” I said. “Thank you.”

We drove on through the forest and lost WFIL so I fell asleep and woke up when we were in Tunkhannock; a lot of the towns have Indian names. I knew we were almost to Clarks Summit because we were on a real highway by then.

But I could tell my sister and Mom had been arguing again.

“I forbid you to see her!” Mom yelled.

Trishie was crying. I pretended to still be asleep.

“She just made a mistake!” Trish explained.

“She’s a slut, a harlot! There, I said it. Now are you happy? Nice girls do not take their pants off with boys. Nice girls don’t park in cars with boys. Nice girls don’t get pregnant!”

My sister sobbed and I wanted to comfort her so I leaned forward and sort of hugged her over the car seat.

Mom continued, “Nice girls do not do what Kitty did! Kitty is a slut and I forbid you to be around her at all! She’s banished from our house because she is a slut! A whore! A harlot!”

My sister reached all the way back over her seat and covered my ears. “Not in front of Peggy, Mom!” she pleaded.

But Mom yelled, “She needs to hear it to! Girls who take their pants off with boys are bad girls. Kitty is a bad girl and she will not be your friend. No sirree!”

I sat back on the seat. There was Dalton, then Waverly and a lot of signs for Scranton. I asked Mom if we were almost there and she said we were ten minutes away.

I snuck up to the back of my sister’s seat but on the window side so Mom wouldn’t hear me and whispered, “Won’t you let me take you on a Sea Cruise?” Then she turned and kissed me.